Stranger Things: Dimension Shift
by gamby004
Summary: 353 days. Mike and Eleven waited for 353 days to reunite, to put a stop to the Upside Down, and to live their lives together for the better. Nothing can undo this. Even if dark forces are out for revenge. They can be attacked and beaten, but the bond they have will never break. But is their bond strong enough and to be able to go beyond other worlds?
1. Chapter 1: All is goodisn't it?

_After much deliberation, I have decided that Dimension Shift will have a full rewrite to fit the post events of ST season 2. My previous ideas would not make sense at this point hence, the rewrite._

 _Sorry for this but I promise you will enjoy this very much!_

 _Stranger Things and all other shows and franchises belongs to their respective owners. I have 0% ownership of these amazing shows_

 _Now, onto the show!_

 **Stranger Things: Dimension Shift**

 **Chapter 1: All is good...is it?**

12 midnight. The once, peaceful town of Hawkins, Indiana is now fast asleep and made the town, silent save for the police and its resident loiterers and troublemakers. It was a usual early saturday morning like always.

Or, it just seemed like it.

Deep within Mirkwood, a visitor is afoot its branch cluttered expanse. The visitor was hooded and wore all black. From the tip of his hood, to the black boots in his feet. His face was obscured by a seemingly ever swallowing darkness, as if the face hidden there belonged to the dark. He walked towards the heart of Mirkwood. After what seemed like an hour later, he had a clearing where literally everything was cleared up of wood and leaves.

The trees formed around the round clearing as if avoiding the very center. Not even one tiny branch dared however over it. The man walked towards to the center of the clearing and started fumbling in the zipper of his cloak. He then reached inside, taking out what looked like sort of gray and blue flower that looked like it was melted and glowed an eerie blue.

He put the flower like object on the ground and planted it on the spoil. After a few seconds of the object being planted, a low rumbling came from beneath, slightly shaking the ground near it.

It did not show, but the hooded man smiled. He had done his mission. Soon, this little town will be cleansed. Free from the tortures of the world and soon, the universe.

"Show time…"

 **Six Months Later**

 **Mike's POV**

Summer…a time to rest your bones and relax. To unwind and..."

I kept tapping my finger impatiently on my arm chair. Last period is Mr. Clarke and I have huge amount of admiration and respect for him. But I just want this to be over with! Can't wait for summer break to begin! It's a time for all of us to have fun and spend time with each other. Also, it gives more even more time to spend time with -"

"Come on! Why is the clock running so slow?!" Lucas whispered sharply, with a pleading look in his face

"Son of a bitch its always like this every time a break begins…" Dustin silently moped in front of me

"You guys really are impatient" Will chuckled on my left. I smile at him in seeing him smile and laugh like before. The past year and month had been a literal hell for Will. First, he was captured by the Demogorgon, got trapped in the Upside Down, almost got killed in the Upside Down, got rescued but started having steange episodes, then to top all that, got possessed by the Mindy Flayer and almost got us killed and the world destroyed!

To see him smile - his usual smile made me at ease. After all the hell he's experienced, he really deserved this. That also counts to someone else too. A certain telekinetic to be exact.

"But compared to you guys, it looks like your girlfriend is doing worse Lucas" Will continued, smirking to us and then from behind him. We looked as well and I smirk as we see Max looking like she could burst a vein at any second.

Maxine or Max, as she prefers to be called, is a case of tomboyish bad ass mixed with one bad temper. I wasn't really a very good first impressions to her when we first met her. I was cold to her whilst everyone else warmed up to her after she came with us for trick or treating. I felt at that time, that she was forcing El to be replaced in our party. We are complete after all!

But after all the help she did for us in fighting off the monster dogs or Demodogs as Dustin would call them, she made me realize she really wanted to us be her friends. She also saved Steve by putting her step brother, Billy to sleep, getting Steve's bat and whacked it near Billy's crotch, and not to mention, drove his car with us in it to the pumpkin patch. How could you not want to be her friend?!

Max looked at us pleadingly and mouthed 'Why is the time so fucking slow?' to us. We replied by only shrugging and that made Max close her eyes helplessly and banged her head on her desk.

"Wow. She also shows frustration like Lucas does. No wonder you two ended up together" I snickered much to Lucas' annoyance. The others did the same as I did too but when Dustin looked away, he had a sort of forlorn expression on his face. He and Lucas were involved in a love triangle with Max. While Dustin tried to impress Max with a Demodog, Dart and followed some advice from Steve ( which from Lucas' point of view, was really a bad idea), Lucas just became himself and only chased Max to be her friend. That led to Lucas becoming Max's girlfriend, while Dustin was left with no one. But on the bright side, he was able to dance with Nancy, which made him somewhat happy.

Mr. Clarke was about to drone some more when the sweet sound of the school bell finally ran. Everyone whooped as it indicated the start of winter break

"Okay class! Enjoy summer break and the holidays and I will all see you next school year!" Mr. Clarke said to us.

"Finally! Freedom!" I laughed as I walked down the bustling halls of the school with the gang.

"You can say that again. I finally have more time to try and beat Dragon Age's high score!" Dustin beamed

"Please Dustin! There is no way you could beat that high score. That bar is just set up way too high!" Lucas retorted

"And I wonder who's fault is that?" I say, giving Max a knowing look

"Well...I did dominate just one game when I first arrived here" Max smirked

"One game? Bullshit! You only conquered just oh I don't know….every game in the whole arcade?!" I exclaimed good naturedly

"And ever since then, no of us could beat it" Will mused

We went out of the courtyard of the school and went over to our bikes in the racks

"This is gonna be different this time! Later, I'm gonna finally beat that 700000 high score and be king of the arcade again!" Dustin cheered reaching for his bike and mounting it

"Keep dreaming Dustin! Last I saw it, Dragon Age had MadMax at 800000 now" Will chuckled. Dustin's mouth opened wide in shock and stared incredulously at Max and Lucas.

"I think what Will means is 900000 point for MadMax?" Max playfully smirked, causing Dustin to growl

"That's it! You're on Maxine!"

"Oh, don't you dare call me that!" Max said back, mounting her skateboard

"How did you end up with this kind of girl?" I say to Lucas

"Who cares? I love this wild girl!" Lucas laughed

"You're one to talk Mike. We all know what kind of girl you have recently" Will grinned at me

"Heh...I guess you have a point" I smile. We rode on to the arcade. I had a smile on my face as we rode on. Not just because of the arcade. But it's mainly due to the fact that I'll be having more time to spend with Eleven now

 **Eleven's POV**

"Faster!"

"I-I'm sorry El. But we can't go any faster or we'll slip off the the ice" Jonathan said as he drove in a slow pace than the other cars

"I have to reach Mike. I might not reach them…" I mutter

"Relax Eleven. Mike and the rest of the boys won't leave you. Besides, Mike, of all people leave you?" Jonathan chuckled as he turned left towards town

After a year and a few months, I'm was finally truly free. Mike describes it to me as being able to do what you want without ever being held down. Free...I love its meaning for me. But it is confusing because I'm not free to do what I want. I still have to follow Hopper's rules. A lot has happened over the years. After being found by Hopper alone in Mirkwood, my life had been...good. A lot more can also happen after a month of fighting the Upside Down's monsters and closing the gate

But I was glad it did happen. I have a new family now when Hopper adopted me ( which he says means that I get to be his legal guardian like Papa had been -only good), I was reunited with my friends, and most importantly, reunited with Mike.

Mike...he is a hero for me. He had done so much for me and helped me see things I have never seen before. He was the only one I could think of always and he admits he feels the same way. We were now dating. Mike said it's like being together and being more than friends. I can't quite understand it yet but I like it.

After the events that happened in November, I was now officially Jane Hopper. Hopper wanted me to stay low again for at least a year due to risks of me being found again by the bad men but he now lets me out from time to time. He always drops me off at the Byers' home whenever he goes to work. While there, Joyce teaches me words and other things I still don't know like how Hopper does. They said I can't go to school quite yet. Still too dangerous, they said. I didn't mind. As long as I can go see my friends after 3pm. In the next school year though, Hopper's co sidering enrolling me to one

"Please Jonathan! Hopper makes it fast in snow!" I begged to Jonathan, who just smiles at me.

"Patience young one. Patience…"

Patience. I have had more than enough patience saved for a year being in Hopper's house. I didn't like waiting anymore. I look over on Jonathan's legs that he uses to step on the pedals of the car. I focus all my thoughts into it. Then Jonathan's right leg jerked downwards and the car had become faster.

"What the? Why can't I lift my legs - Eleven?" Jonathan said in a annoyed, worried tone. Jonathan twisted and turned the wheel and avoided lots of cars, objects, and made turns while we're fast.

"I said faster. Mike is waiting"

 **Mike's POV**

"Where the hell are they? It's been 20 minutes already" I say out loud

"Give it a break Mike. They probably have trouble on the road, driving in the snow and all" Lucas said besides me. We were at the arcade now and Eleven was the only one missing from our party. She was usually here at 3 o'clock on the dot except for today.

"Knowing Jonathan and his driving, I'm pretty sure he's extra careful " Will added

"Hmm….I guess you're right. What could possibly go wrong, right?" I say to them

"Well...the government may have found and taken her by force - ow!" Dustin exclaimed from the jab that Lucas gave

"Not helping Dustin!" Lucas retorted.

"Uhh...guys" Max muttered besides me.

"Hey! I'm just stating facts! I mean, it is possible given her powers. Hopper did mention she has to lay low as much as possible" Dustin continued

"Guys…"

" We get it Dustin but don't go all 0-100 instantly. Eleven wouldn't be captured that easily" I reason

"Guys…"

"Plus she has Jonathan with her. I'm sure she's perfectly safe" Will added.

"But it's still a possibility!" Dustin continued on.

"For the love of...GUYS!!"

We snap our heads towards Max, who was looking incredulous at us

"What it is Max? It looks like you trying to warn us about something" I asked her

"You might want to look over there…" Max pointed at the far end of the road. From there, we could see a speeding car being honked at and avoiding objects at all costs as well as being avoided by other cars.

"Hey, that's our car!" Will exclaimed, wide eyed

"Holy shit, it's out of control!" Dustin added

"And headed right towards us!" Max piped

The car made a beeline towards us. Before we made a run for it to avoid the car, it made a sharp left turn and made a sudden stop. All of us looked at each other. Shocked as to what just happened. Then the passenger door opened followed by the driver door. El went out of the car and smiped as she saw me. I smile back and wave and she made a brisk walk towards me. She hugged me as she reached me and I did the same. When we let go however, the urgency of something bad may have happened to her may have occurred.

"Oh my god, El! Are you hurt? What happened? The car just went nuts there!" I asked in a panicked tone. El then grabbed both of my arms and eased them to my sides.

"I'm okay Mike. Just wanted Jonathan to make it faster. Jonathan then stepped out of the car, looking dazed. Will then proceeded to check up on his brother to see if he was okay

"I'm fine Will...just fine. Don't worry about me" Jonathan muttered to us

"Are you sure? What exactly happened there? I think we should have the car checked" Will said to him

"Oh, the car is okay. Someone here was just so excited in seeing Mike and let's just say, she almost blew off the engine" Jonathan said, giving El a knowing look, which she smiled at. Then we realize just what El did

"El...you didn't, did you?" I sighed

"I don't want to be late. I have to see all of you" El explained with a smile

"Okay. What you did there is pretty badass but man, that was dangerous" Max commented. El then snapped towards her with a glare. She still wasn't really keen with Max. For what reason, I really don't know. Must be a girl thing

"Is there a problem wanting to see my friends?" Eleven said with a slight annoyance, making Max grimace

"No but what I meant was-" Max continued but got cut off by Lucas

"What she means is that it's great you want to see us but be careful next time" Lucas said. Max had her usual scowl painted on her face. I look over to Lucas and mouthed 'I'll handle it' to me.

"Yeah! I think Jonathan's having a heart attack" Dustin patted Jonathan's back.

"You sure you okay Jonathan? I can go home with you if you're not okay-" Will started but Jonathan held a hand in front of him

"No thanks but I think I can manage. You guys just have fun okay?" Jonathan smiled, ruffling Will's head

"If you say so. But be careful okay?" Will said

"I will. Eleven...I can understand why you made me sped up and I can forgive you. But you and Hopper might have a talk later" Jonathan said sheepishly to El. Jonathan then rode on the car, gave two honks and was off on a now careful drive out

"Wow. And I thought Billy was a reckless driver…" Max muttered. Everyone then looked at El, who shifted uncomfortably besides me and all eyes on her

"Mike...I'm in trouble aren't I?" El asked shyly. I sigh as I gave her a sincere smile

"Maybe? I know you're afraid we'll leave you out but we won't, okay? If you're late, it's either we wait or we look for you to see what's wrong. Okay?" I say to her

"Promise that you won't leave me behind?" El smiled.

"Of course! That's a promise" I say back, making El giggle.

"But you are going to have to face Hopper" I laughed. El just sighed in defeat

"Come on guys! We have to go! I'm itching to beat that high score! Let's go!" Dustin said, ushering us inside the arcade.

"You really feel you're gonna beat me this time huh?" Max chided

"Just watch me Max. Prepare to meet your maker" Dustin chided back

ST ST ST

"Son of a bitch! How?! How the fuck did I got hit?!" Dustin growled, slamming his fists into the game machine

"Told you you wouldn't beat Max" I laughed at Dustin

"And I was so close too! Stupid game's broken!" Dustin screamed, kicking the side of the game

"It ain't even close Henderson! You only had 500000 points!" Max teased

"This game's a piece of shit!" Dustin screamed, kicking Dragon Age once more

"Hey! I might get you all out of here if you keep that up!" Keith, the arcade guy scolded with his slightly slothed voice

"This game's ripping off people Keith! I want a refund!" Dustin sad, giving the arcade machine another whack

"Calm down Dustin. There's a lot of games to beat me on. Like Dig Dug" Max smirked

"Might as well try that but still, I want my money back!"

We started to shift through the other side of Dragon Age, where the Dig Dug machine was located. Dustin slotted a quarter onto the machine and the game began. We all watched on but after a few seconds, I noticed that El was looking at another arcade game next to us. I go to her and see what was about

When I got close to El, she turned to me with curious eyes

"What's...Castle...vania?" El said, confused.

"Oh, that's Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. It's about a guy that goes into this evil castle - a kind of big building that's also a house - and kills of different kinds of monsters" I explained to El

"Monsters? Like what we did?" El smiled. I then return it to her

"Yeah, like what we did against the Mind Flayer and the Demodogs and Demogorgon. But what the hero's really after is the vampire that torments the people" I further explained

"Vampire? What's Vampire?"

"Well, they're these monsters that looked like humans. But they don't age and they can only be awake at night. Worst of all, they can only drink blood to survive and can't be killed"

"Can't be killed? How do you stop one?" El cocked her head

"Well, it's not completely unkillable. They can be killed. You can drive a stake into their hearts, burn them in sunlight, and use holy items like crosses or holy water. Maybe your powers can kill them too" I chuckle at her

"Are they real?" El asked seriously

"Nah! The Upside Down is a lot more real than vampires. You know what, do you want to try this game out? I can teach you how to play it" I say to El

"I'd love that Mike" El happily answered. And so, we played Castlevania while everyone else played Dig Dug, which has everyone swearing there now, except for Will, who looked lost.

After showing El the works, she got the hang of playing the game. She even has the highest score. Something that Dustin and Max will try to beat for sure

ST ST ST

"Fucking game with its fucking ripoffing people with their quarters…." Dustin grumbled. In the end, he couldn't beat Max's high score, let alone get close near it.

"Looks like I'm still queen!" Max teased, making us laugh all except for El of all people

"There's still tomorrow guys. So start searching under the couch Dustin" Lucas teased

"Hey, who knows? Maybe El could beat Max. She was pretty tubular on Castlevania" Will piped. Max then looked nervously at El and her tense expression. It took a few seconds but she looked away. Max can really be a tough tomboy but she wavered in the face of El. I can't blame her. Who would mess with a girl with telekinetic powers?

"I think I'll pass with Castlevania. Not my cup of tea" Max muttered. It was an obvious lie but no one noticed it but me.

We all rode our bikes (in Max's case, skateboard) towards our house for our usual hangout. El rode behind me like she did back when we were chased by the men from the lab. It was only a few minutes in our house so it was nothing to carry El in my back. Besides, it brought back the memories of El flipping the van over our heads. El held my waist tight, as if afraid of falling off.

"Am I riding too fast El?" I asked.

"No...it just feel nice riding with you" El gently said. She reached her hand in my shoulder and I turn to her and smile, which she gave back in kind.

We approached the cul de sac to where my house was located. But there was a problem once we saw my house.

"Hey, Mike? Ain't that truck in front of your house is-" Will started but I completed his sentence for everyone

"Yeah...from the sheriff's department. Only one man owns a truck from there" I worriedly said. I looked at El and she gulped nervously, expecting trouble. Given how she arrived in the arcade, we already knew how this is gonna go with El and her father figure, Jim Hopper. Hawkins' finest police chief and the man who I owed everything to.

We slowly approached our house and sure enough, my parents were at the front door. Talking to Hopper. When our bikes screeched the front lawn, all three instinctively turned to us. Hopper's face became stoic once she saw me and El. I look at El and she had a sorry expression on her face. Cautiously, we un-mounted our bikes and moved towards them

"Right on time, I see. Enjoyed the start of winter break?" Mom says with a smile at us.

"Oh yeah! Everyone went wild like it was summer vacation and then we went to the arcade to celebrate. Just shame about our quarters and the highscore of a certain zoomer here…" Dustin explained to us and giving a look to Max, who just smirked and shrugged.

"Glad that everyone had a good time! Although, chief Hopper here can't agree with you on that one…" Mom said, taking a glance at Hopper, who still looked stoic. We couldn't tell if he was mad or not. But knowing what silence with that kind of face meant for Hopper, it can only mean trouble.

Hopper came forward to me and El. He took one l, stern look at me and turned to look at El. She looked sheepish and probably knew what was gonna happen next.

"Kid...a certain driver told me that felt as if he couldn't move his feet away from the accelerator earlier. He said it happened when he was with you in the car" Hopper said in an unusually calm manner. This is definitely a bad sign

"Um…" Was all El could mutter . Despite her awesome powers and the occasional, but scary temper, she's still an innocent girl from the world around her and she could not tell a lie. Most of the time anyway.

"Look kid. I'm sure you have a good explanation about what you did, even though it included a certain boy -" Hopper said, taking another look at me

"Hey! I did not have any idea she was in trouble because of me….at first." I defend

"Michael, don't talk back to adults when not addressed" Dad muttered to me in his usual lazy self. I look at mom and just gives her usual "just go with it" look when dad's the topic. Hopper sighs and puts a hand El's shoulders

"Jane, let's talk about this when you get home later. I'll allow you to hang out with your friends for now until then, okay?" Hopper says to El

"Okay. I understand" El muttered. Hopper smiles and pats El gently, making her smile.

"Good to know then. Well, I better be going. Some work needs to be done. By the way, Will? Jonathan's okay. He's a bit spooked but okay." Hopper said as he got in his truck

"Oh thank god then. Jonathan really looked like he was gonna have a heart attack" Will laughed

"I think he did get a heart attack" Dustin joked, eliciting more laughters

We waved Hopper goodbye and we proceeded to go to our house to play in my new Atari and to hang out on general

"What was that all about Michael? It looked like El did something bad like a crime or something" Mom worriedly said

"El? Doing something bad? Not in a million years! She did do something crazy though!" I grinned. El did the same, making mom smile

"Now that, I can't believe either. El is nowhere near crazy!" Mom chuckled. She was half right about that…

"When police is involved, it always mean someone did bad Karen" Dad deadpanned.

"I swear Mike, your dad is-" Dustin whispered but got jabbed in the sides by Max and Lucas before he could say something else

"I know Dustin, I know…" I laughed silently

ST ST ST

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the basement, talking about random stuff like how Max managed to skate in a school railing, Lucas riding Max's skateboarding and failing miserably, Dustin having a hair disaster with a hair tutorial with Steve (seriously, his hair still looked like bird's nest), talking about Will's maybe girlfriend, Mel that she met at the snowball, and a lot more stuff. We all talked about many things.

But topics about the Upside Down and the lab was off limits. We were far from normal but we want our lives to be as normal as possible. Especially for Will and Eleven. Will not only had one bad field trip in the Upside Down, but got possessed and became the Mind Flayer's slave and almost lost her. For Eleven, she was the one opened the gate. By accident of course. If we bring it up, it might upset them. We can't risk that. Not when both of them are so happy with their lives now

We were seated in her fort. I really didn't took it down when El came back. It was a sort of safe haven for Eleven. But she wanted me to be with her in the fort now whenever we hang out in my house. Dustin and Will usually sits in the D and D table and of course, the stalker and the zoomer had the couch to themselves. I had the furniture arranged so that they were placed close in El's fort

"You think you'll get in trouble when you get home El?" I asked her. I was a bit concerned since Hopper is one of the few people who can discipline Eleven without being ripped apart by her powers

"I'll be fine Mike. I can…'take care' of him like what Lucas says" Eleven smiles at me

"She's right Mike. Hell, I think she doesn't need to worry about it at all since she IS the all might Eleven" Max chuckled to us. I did the same but El openly ignored her and didn't look at her. Max looks at me with sober eyes and I just gave her a knowing look.

"But you gotta hand it to Eleven. You take punishment from Hopper like its okay" Lucas points out

"Except if it's related to Mike. You should have seen when me and mom went to their place and was about to ground El from not seeing mike for a week. She went nuts and made a lot of things fly!" Will laughed, making us laugh too

"It was just because Hopper saw me and Mike kiss "El muttered. That made the others go into fits of "oooh"s and smiles that made my face feel hot and El giggle

"Luckily, mom took Hopper out of it and git El off the hook" Will continued

"Wow. Mrs. Byers really has a good hold on Hopper, huh? She's always one step in front of him" I said to them

"It's like he's her dog!" Dustin piped making Lucas, Max, and Will laugh while I just laughed awkwardly. Hey, even if it was adoptive, Hopper still is El's father! Luckily, El was just looking at us confused. Perhaps wondering what Dustin was talking about. Whew!

"Maybe those two like each other. What do you guys think?" Max smirked at us

"Well...mom is awfully close to Hopper lately" Will mused

"Nah! Their just close friends. It's obvious!" Dustin piped in

"Yeah. Like what happened to Mike and El, Will and Mel, and me and Ma- oh shit…" Lucas retorted but stopped midway as he realized what he just said. The mood got a bit stiff. Dustin and Lucas stared at each other. One was poker faced and the other had an unsure look. Max however, had a worried look on her face

"You had to go there…" I groaned, facepalming

"Is there something wrong with what Lucas said? Why are they looking at each other way?" El asked me. She had no clue of the love triangle that happened between Lucas, Dustin, and Max. Max eventually chose Lucas over Dustin. I can't blame her. Lucas was more sensitive to her compared to Dustin and his bizarre way of impressing her via Dart the Demodog

Just when the tension was beginning to get more intense, the basement door opened and down came Jonathan and Nancy. All smiles and laughing at each other. Nancy wasn't paying attention to the stairs and her other foot was about to hit air

"Whoah Nancy you'll-" I warned but it was too late. Nancy stumbled and started to fall down the stairs. Jonathan tried to reach her but missed Nancy's hand by an inch.

Fortunately however, Nancy didn't even touch down on the stairs or in the floor. She floated mid air. She was wide eyed and looked shocked and awed. I look over at Eleven and sure enough, her hand was outstretched in front of her and concentrated towards Nancy. El then gently set down my sister on the floor. Once that was done, El relaxed and so did everybody else. Jonatha let out a breath that he might have been holding for awhile now

"I really need to get used to that more" Nancy giggled, standing up and dusting herself.

"You okay Nancy?" I asked her

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for the save Eleven - I mean Jane - wait...I'm confused. What should I call you, really?" Nancy laughed

"You can call me whatever you like" El politely said

"Okay then. I'll just call you El. Its shorter" Nancy smiled

"Sorry about that Nancy. Shouldn't have distracted you there" Jonathan sheepishly said to Nancy

"Hey, it's okay. No harm done and I came out fine" Nancy said back and both of them kissed each other. Making us groan. Jonathan and Nancy started dating during the time when the Upside Down was starting to take over our world and of course, after Steve broke up with Nancy. They've been inseparable ever since.

"Get a room!" I bellowed. They separated and Nancy gave me a look that shouts "Shut Up" all over the room

"So, you guys enjoyed yourselves today?" Will said in a teasing tone

"Well, it was fun indeed. Wished it could have lasted more" Nancy said, giving a knowing look to Jonathan

"True. But we all need to go home and pick up little brothers. Come on, pack up guys!" Jonathan said to us. In particular, Will

"Bye guys. Same time and place tomorrow?" I asked them and the party all agreed.

"Oh yeah. El, you ride with us. Hopper said to drop you off in your place" Jonathan added. El nodded and gave me a kiss

"Goodnight Mike. See you tomorrow" El smiled

"You know I'll be waiting too" I softly said to her. Everyone went out of the basement and then outside. Dustin, and Lucas rode their bikes. Max rode behind Lucas being his girlfriend and all. Also for the fact that Max lives near Lucas' place. El and Will went with Jonathan in their car and off they went. I waved them goodbye and I was about to close the door when I suddenly see something flash blue from left peripheral vision.

I looked to where the flash came from and found nothing. I did a double take on where I saw it but only saw nothing but a bush in the dark and the occasional cricket noises.

"Must be my imagination…" I shrugged and headed back inside. I should relax myself more. Everything's better now. Everything's back to normal now. What's the worst that can happen after the Upside Down?


	2. Chapter 2: A Hooded Figure

**Stranger Things: Dimension Shift**

 **Chapter 2: A Hooded Figure**

 **Eleven's POV**

Jonathan and Will had gotten me home first before they themselves, went home. We still lived on the shack in the woods. I was confused about this since I now have a new name that he explained, we can use to hide me from the bad men and I now get to be with my friends. But Hopper said it's still too risky and we still need to keep hidden in some way. I'm fine with as long as I can be with everyone from time to time.

I navigated the pathway towards the shack, careful to carefully watch for the traps we set up around the shack. Not stupid.

When I reached the door, I did our secret knock: 1 long knock and followed by 3 short ones. In an instant, I heard a pair of feet pounding near the door, followed by the sound of locks and bolts being moved. The door gently opened to reveal Hopper, still in his uniform. I look at his face to see if he was mad about what I did earlier with Jonathan but his face was his usual look on his face. The kind that looked tough and how Mike would call it, hard and steely. Joyce described it as 'Stern'. I have to look that up in the dictionary some time later.

"Ah, glad you're finally here kid" Hopper greeted in a calm manner. I stepped inside cautiously and Hopper closed the door once I step inside.

"So, how's the day with your friends?" Hopper asked me. I look at him carefully. Mike taught me to always look in the eyes of people to tell me if they're lying or hiding something. It worked for Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Will, that other girl, Dustin ( especially Dustin) and so on. But Hopper was the one I can't quite read. He always looked serious and stern.

"It was good! Lot of fun!" I say with a grin. I'm waiting for him to say something about Jonathan and the car. I didn't want to get in trouble. But I also don't want Hopper to be mad for long.

"Glad to know that. Heard from Mrs. Wheeler you already had dinner there. You should take a bath and go to bed. It's past your bedtime" Hopper smiled at me.

"Okay then…" I simply said. I still kept looking at his now smiling face for any signs that he'll bring up the thing from last afternoon. So far, still nothing

I went to the bathroom and took my time in taking a warm bath to wash off the dirt of the day. It helps my mind too. It somehow makes me feel comfortable when thinking and playing with my powers. If I recall, they call it as 'relaxing'. In 353 days, I didn't spend my time just watching TV, eating eggos, learning my words of the day, and calling Mike in the dark place. I also took time in using my powers and what else I can do with it. It made me use my powers more like opening locks, pulling bigger objects, and so on. It made me tired and bleed on the nose as always but as I use them longer, it made me less tired and the bleeding takes time to happen now. At least for 25 minutes.

After taking my bath and making objects float around while I take it, I get dressed for the night and step out of the bathroom. Hopper was seated on the couch, watching TV and a beer in his hand. He intently watched at the TV and took a drink in his beer. I step towards him and put my hands behind me. Twiddling on them. He looks at me and smiles again

"Goodnight Jane" Hopper simply said with a smile

"Goodnight too...Jim" I smile back to him. It was weird. Papa was now gone and now Hopper is now my new Papa. Yet, I can't call him Papa too or Dad like how Mike calls Mr. Wheeler. Maybe because Hopper isn't really my Papa. But he acts like it to me. But nicer than Papa was to me.

Very nicer. Very different

"Sleep tight Jane. Hope that no bad dreams tonight" Hopper chuckled. I nodded and headed to my room. I actually had a time with him without getting punished. Just as I was about to open the door to my room, Hopper coughed lightly

"Say Jane….you took longer taking a bath tonight" Hopper said from behind me.

"I was enjoying my bath and taking my time. I was relaxing" I reply to hin, still facing the door

"You know the meaning of relax now. That's great! But, you taking time? If I recall, Jonathan said you like things done faster"

Oh no….

I slowly turn around and Hopper was now standing, looking at me intently.

"You thought I'd forget didn't you?" Hopper asked but I now know that some questions aren't really questions. Do they have a word for that? I sigh and look at him guiltily

"I was hoping you'd forget" I admit to him. He sighs and shakes his head to me

"Mike and the rest of your friends really are starting to get to you. Especially their antics"

"Antics?" I asked, confused. I love learning new words but I don't like it when they use a word I don't know while being lectured

"It means things people do that are usually bad or crazy" Hopper explained. I frown at what he said

"My friends are not bad.." I say firmly to Hopper.

"Yeah, I know that. Look, the point is that you like being with Mike and the rest of the kids. Remember they aren't going to leave you, okay? You don't need to demand anyone to get you faster to them and maybe even endanger them" Hopper lectured

"But I want to be with them on time! They might leave me…" I admit to him. Hopper then kneeled to make eye contact on me and put a hand on my shoulder, holding it firm but gentle at the same time

"Jane...they're your friends. True friends even. If they really are that, they won't leave you when you're late. In fact, they might even go find you and get worried" Hopper calmly said. I look down and think over what he said. They did say that they always thought of me when I was gone and even went out day and night to search for me. That included Will, who I was just getting to know recently. Among them, Mike was always the one trying his best to find me. He called out to me. Told me things in his supercom. He did it without stopping for 353 days. Never did I not listen to every call he made for all those days. It was just that Hopper was the one who was able to find me first instead of Mike or worse, the bad men. I look up at Hopper and nodded to him

"I guess you're right. They don't really look like the kind of people that would leave me" I smile at him. Hopper then smiles back upon seeing my smile

"That's the spirit kid! Always remember, no one will ever leave you ever again. Me, Joyce, and all of your friends" Hopper states to me. I nod my head in agreement

"Yes. I understand. Especially Mike" I say to him. Hopper just rolls his eyes but chuckles

"Yeah...especially Mike. but you are still gonna be grounded"

I slump my shoulders and felt that the happy feeling inside me went away.

"I'm still getting punished?" I asked Hopper with a sad tone

"Yup. Wouldn't be fair to what happened earlier. You need to be taught a lesson too. Only one Eggo per day, no TV, and you have to be home at 8:00 in the evening" Hopper said now in his usual stern face again. I huff and look him straight in the eye but I soften as I thought about one word that can change his mind

"Compromise?" I mutter out to him

"Kid, that's already compromise. If I take that compromise away, it would include not seeing Mike for a week too" Hopper said, his stern face not leaving. That got me taken aback. I think it over for a short second and then grinned at him.

"Compromise" I say a matter of factly in a agreeing way.

"Good then. Now go to sleep kid. Staying up late ain't good for you" Hopper said, patting my head. I say my goodnights and got off to bed. I close the door to my room but I don't get to go to bed straight away. I open my bedside drawer and get my blindfold inside. I smile to myself as I think of calling Mike from the void. I went over to the radio and turn it on -

"By the way, El? No using the blindfold to contact Mike. Part of being grounded" Hopper called out. I look at the door incredulously. I can't believe he knew I was just about to do that! I just sigh and go to bed. At least the good I get from it is still being able to see Mike

 **Some hours later…**

I snap my eyes open and look around. I instantly felt fear when I saw my surroundings.

My surroundings was dim. White specs flew down everywhere I look. Dark tendrils root all around the walls, floors and ceiling. The air felt heavy,stale, and toxic. I stand up right away. This can't be happening….

"Hopper?!" I cried. I called Hopper again but he didn't come. I stood up and went to the living room. The same black roots and white specs was all I see.

"It can't be….. But why?" I whisper. I pinch myself really hard. My friends told me that to to do it when I think I'm seeing things or not believing what I was seeing for a moment because it can be that I was just dreaming and I can wake up at any time.. But after I do it however, I was still in the same, dark place that I didn't wish to be in ever again. The one place that all of us wanted to forget for so long.

The Upside Down.

"Not a dream...not a dream..." I say to myself. I run to the door and go outside. The woods look more ominous with the red, storm clouded sky and white specs floating around. The trees didn't have leaves in them, even thought it was the summer season already. The world felt dangerous...bad. Will had one word he used when he talks about the Upside Down.

Hell. A place where bad men go when they die.

Then I hear it. Growling. From the shadow of the trees, an ugly creature came out. Its fleshy skin looking wet and walking with all of its legs. Its head was round and had two slits on it in a cross pattern. Said head didn't have a face as well.

"Demodogs…"

Once the Demodog showed itself, more growling came and all around me, more Demodogs came out from all directions. They came closer and closer to me. They didn't have any eyes but it was obvious they were looking straight at me. Their growls grew louder and louder, all of them forming into a semicircle in front of me. I reach one hand in the very Demodog in front of me and concentrated. I willed it to move. To be pushed back. But then I felt different. Really different at all. The Demodog was still getting closer

"What? Why isn't it working?" I say out loud. I kept trying to will my mind into pushing them away but my powers didn't work at all. I concentrated harder once more but still, they didn't move. I felt the familiar, wet feeling in my lips now. Blood had started to go out of my nose and I didn't even manage push them even for a little.

The Demodog in front of me then growled. The growl turned into a screech as it finally opened it flower like mouth that had every row of sharp teeth in them. The others followed as well. As soon as this happened, the one in front of me started to run to me. When it jumped towards me, I ran past it to avoid it. But this led the other Demodogs to run at me. I did the next best thing: I ran.

I remember running with Mike when papa and the bad men arrived the school. Then when the Demogorgon appeared. It made my chest feel hot and my breathing short. Now that I was running again, the hot feeling came back and it kept getting hotter. My breath became shorter and I felt something moving very fast inside me. Like it was hitting inside me repeatedly. It felt tiring and felt bad. But it didn't made me slow down. It made faster. Much faster. I see to my right a Demodog running next to me. When it jumped towards me, I avoided it by going further left. Another one however, appeared in my left. It jumped to me and I avoided it by running to my right. But I didn't avoided that much. It managed to scratch me in my shoulder and I felt a sharp sting from it. I saw blood starting to drip through it but I still didn't stop running. I kept running, turning, and avoiding. The woods now looked made me lost and I honestly did not know where to go now.

But then the Demodogs grew quieter and I hear less of their feet running to me. I turn around and see them look at me but they didn't follow. I was confused to why was this but I didn't think of it much. What matters is getting away from them and getting out of the Upside Down. I see branches cover an exit towards what looked like a clearing. I ran faster and forced myself to push through the leafless branches. The twigs and branches scratched my skin but I ignored them. I still kept at it to get away. I had small cuts all around me now but it didn't matter to me. I was used to being hurt. I had enough time to experience it already. I push away the last of the branches that blocked my way and I managed to get out to a clearing. I drop down to the ground, suddenly feeling tired. I didn't think you're tiredness can be left behind until it follows you back. I breath in and out quickly, trying to catch the air I lost. The beating inside me was stopping now and my breathing was getting smoother as well.

Once I was feeling a bit better, I now managed to stand up and dust away the dirt all over me. But when I look at the clearing however, I was shocked to see I was not alone. In the center were to figures. The first one was a giant monster that was lying on the ground. The monster looked like an animal that I learned from Hopper that he called a snake. The giant snake monster was gray in color with a mix of black and red. Large, black roots grew from its back - 3 for each side of its body. A red, pointed object was in every end of these roots. Its body had black and red stripe patterns in front of it as well as gold rings surrounding its body. Its head had two, gold horns coming from its head that connected from its mouth. Its tail had 4, gold horns on them. Its eyes was red with black, surrounding them.

I backed away from seeing it eyes because I thought they were scary but when I looked at them again, I strangely felt sad. Although the giant snake's eyes was scary, it looked weak, tired, and looked like it was asking for help.

But I look at the second figure that was standing on the snake's head and it made me back away again. The second figure looked like a man. He wore a robe that had a cloth covering his head so I can't see his face. A zipper ran in the center of the robe. The man also had black gloves and boots in him as well. He stood over the snake like it just hurt it. The man looked at me and jumped down in front of the giant snake's face. The snake made a low noise that sounded like a cry. The shadow under the man suddenly grew bigger and spread into the ground. It grew big enough the ground below the giant snake. The shadow the grew bigger, swallowing down the snake. The snake shook and lashed out but the shadow still covered it until it ate the snake whole.

I tried to move. To run away. The robed man was definitely a bad man. I back away quickly but then the robed man stretched his hand forward and I immediately felt numb. I couldn't feel and move anything in my body no matter what I did. I tried my powers again but they still didn't work. As I struggle to get out, the shadow behind the robed man grew and rose higher until it was higher than he was. The shadow formed a point and soon, the below the point, a head formed followed by a giant body. Huge pairs of arms started to grow that stretched into claws and two wings grew from its back. Then on the head, two, red burning eyes shone bright. I realize that the two red lights looked like eyes and formed into a snarled expression.

The shadow monster that came out made me shake in fear. It was made worse that its eyes were looking directly at me. The shadow creature then started to form blue electricity from around him until it spread all over its body. The electricity then extended to the robed man, surrounding him with the same, eerie blue electricity. The electricity then formed into a bright ball in his extended hand, that was still stretched out to me. I try to get out and move. I know what he was about to do but try as I might, I still can't move. The blue ball got bigger and when the shadow creature roared loud - much more louder and scarier than a Demogorgon or Demodog, the robed man pushed the blue ball of electricity towards me. I was trapped and unable to avoid it

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

ST ST ST

"El! El! Wake up!"

I snap my eyes open and take a deep breath. I felt like I was below water and that I drowned. My chest burned as I catch my breath. I sit up and look frantically at my surroundings. I felt hands grab my shoulder and in a panic, I swat them away with a quick motion of my hands. I was feeling too panicked to focus to use my powers

"Jesus Jane! It's okay! Its me...its me…"

I calm myself and look with wide eyes, at Hopper, who was seated in front of me. He had a worried expression in his eyes and also looked scared. I look around and see that I was back in my room. No dim surroundings, no white specks floating, no dark roots, nothing. Only my normal looking room. It really was just a dream. I immediately hugged Hopper tight and just cried into his shoulder. I felt his arms around me and his hands, rubbing my back.

"It's okay Eleven...it's okay…" he whispered to me.

I then told him about the bad dream I had. From going to the upside down, to being hit by a blue ball of electricity.

"You can relax now kid. It's only a nightmare..a bad dream" Hopper said to me

"Real. It felt so real…" I muttered to him

"It may feel real but it's just felt real. It just a dream and nothing more. Nothing bad is gonna happen to you again, okay? No more Upside Down, and no more bad men". I look into Hopper and see no lie in his face. Not like when he said I would see Mike soon and took 353 days.

"Promise? No more soon or lies?"

"Yes Eleven. I promise it and this time, no more lies with it"

Hopper then held me tight and I di ld the same. I felt better now with the talk with Hopper. I never had this with Papa before. What Hopper does felt different. Nicer. It was enough to make me believe nothing bad is going to happen again

 **Outside of the shack…**

The sheriff and the girl didn't realize that they were being watched. Hidden among the trees but was close enough to observe the two individuals, a hooded figure watched over them. The figure felt amusement over what he was seeing. He had heard what had been exchanged between their conversation. How naive was the girl to believe that bad things will never happen again and how foolish the sheriff is for giving the girl false hope.

They will let them have their hope and happiness for now: the girl, the sheriff, the 3 meddlesome boys, the one with the skateboard, the anxious woman, the intelligent one, the gentle teen, and the batter.

Sooner or later, their plans will come. In fact, it has already begun

 _If you played a certain nintendo game, you would know the two monsters El saw in the Upside Down_


End file.
